Federation of Gay Games

Although born in the U.S. in Boston, Massachusetts, Amaechi was raised in Stockport, England, the son of a Nigerian father and English mother ... He moved to the U.S. at age 17 to play high school basketball in Ohio ... His college basketball career began at Vanderbilt University but he transferred to Penn State where he was a two-time First Team Academic All-American ... His NBA career began with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 1995 ... Over the next several years, Amaechi's career took him back to Europe, where he was a member of two European championship teams, and eventually back to the NBA with the Orlando Magic, where he had his greatest professional success ... In 2000, he was honored as one of the most improved players in the league ... He played his final professional games with the Utah Jazz in 2003 and is still the only British player to have had a career in the NBA ... Amaechi came out of retirement for the March 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, Australia, helping England's national basketball team win the bronze medal ... Today, Amaechi can be seen as a sports and current affairs commentator for the BBC, ITV and Sky as well as a presenter on a range of radio and television programs, including ITV's ongoing "Britain on the Move" series and Channel 5's weekly "Sport on Five" ... Additionally, Amaechi has extensive expertise in keynote and motivational speaking ... He owns Animus Consulting, which provides motivational speakers, and is a partner in Animus Development, an executive training program ...

Amaechi's philanthropic work is diverse and includes participation in organisations such as One Parent Families, National Literacy Trust, Disability Sport England, and Kick It Out ... Perhaps John's most important project in giving back to his community in the U.K. is his involvement with the ABC Foundation (http://www.meech.org), an organisation that encourages youth to increase their participation in physical activities and holistic support services through building affordable quality facilities and providing expert coaches, mentors and educators ...

Since his groundbreaking declaration in February of this year, Amaechi has been touring the United States on behalf of his New York Times bestselling autobiography, "Man in the Middle," and has become a spokesperson for the Human Rights Campaign's Coming Out Project ... He is drawing large crowds while speaking about his personal struggle living life as a closeted man in professional sports and the process he went through leading to the public announcement of his sexuality.

Quotable: "The Gay Games are important because they give an opportunity for people who are not always comfortable in the sports community to compete in an atmosphere that is embracing. The GLBT teams change attitudes for the better, particularly when they play in straight leagues. And it's true that a lot of the teams are not just teams — they are a support group for their members and perform a valuable function apart from mere exercise. I know people in the GLBT basketball and volleyball leagues and they very much enjoyed the championships at the Gay Games last year in Chicago."

"Gay Games," "Federation of Gay Games," and the interlocking circles device are trademarks of the Federation of Gay Games, Inc.
Trademarks are registered in the USA, Canada, Benelux, the UK, and Australia.
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